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Plot
The story begins with Baltoh's appearance on Earth during a storm, immediately coming upon a Gargoyle that had killed and was eating a man, something that should have been beyond its abilities after so little time since its arrival. Elsewhere, Abaddon, the Demon leading a pack of Gargoyles, realizes Baltoh's presence and warns the others to stay unnoticed, lest the plan be jeopardized. Later that night, Selene, while walking home from work, is attacked and dragged into an alley. Three men rob her, fatally wound her, and are about to rape her when Baltoh arrives. He slays her attackers, at which point she loses consciousness. While healing her, Baltoh finds himself strangely attracted to Selene, and even carries her back to her home. In her apartment, his attraction for her continues to develop. About to leave, Selene wakes up and pulls a feather from one of his wings, asking him if he is an angel. He replies, "sort of", only to find her asleep again. The next morning, Baltoh manages to find Abaddon underground, feeding on humans. The two engage in battle, and using the feather she took from him, Selene finds Baltoh and unwittingly intervenes, allowing Abaddon to make his escape. Baltoh returns with Selene to her apartment, where he explains his origins, the nature of the three universes, and the reason for his presence on Earth. As they talk, Selene begins developing feelings for Baltoh. He leaves, but tells her should she ever be in danger, he will again come to her rescue. Due to the damage caused by his battle with Abaddon, Michael arrives and confronts Baltoh. He acknowledges that signs of a Demonic plot, but while both he and Baltoh have the same enemy, they are unable to work together. Underneath the city, Abaddon and members of the Coven work together to summon another Demon, Rimmon, from Hell as back-up. Over the next several days, the Demons and the Coven work together to cultivate fear and anger in the city. They commit terrorist attacks, instigate violence between various protest groups, incriminate the police with hate crimes, and kidnap several children from a daycare. With the turbulent situation in the city, Baltoh visits Selene to make sure she is safe. They continue to talk and get to know each other, but when Selene tries to make a move, her cat gets in the way and ruins to moment. In preparation for their plan, Abaddon and Rimmon perform an experiment to summon a Horror Obelisk, using human blood and the rage and despair of the city as a means of creating it. Baltoh arrives at the scene, realizing that both Demons have been enhanced with cursed objects known as Binding Nails. Michael shows up, but rather than work together with Baltoh to stop the Demons, he deems him an enemy and attacks. A three-way battle between Baltoh, Michael, and Rimmon begins, during which a large section of the city is destroyed, though with the work of Angels, the damage is repaired and human deaths and acknowledgment are prevented. Baltoh manages to defeat both Michael and Rimmon, but Abaddon succeeds in his experiment and summons an obelisk. Baltoh discovers the obelisk and also finds Selene, have once again tracked him down with the feather. After Baltoh sends the obelisk back to Hell, Rimmon appears and tries to attack Selene. Baltoh becomes enraged kills Rimmon, intentionally making his death as painful as possible. Both Baltoh and Selene are shocked by his loss of composure, realizing that his anger was due to his feelings for her. Confused by these emotions, Baltoh flees. That night, Abaddon uses a Ouija board made from human body parts to contact Iscariot for new orders. He is told to create Gargoyles to use as a decoy while more Demons are summoned. In order to do so, he triggers a riot and harnesses the resulting negative energy of the humans to spawn them. Nearby, Selene and Molly are having lunch, Selene telling Molly about Baltoh but describing him as a normal human. They are drawn to the riot by the commotion, Selene instincts telling her that something Demonic is at work. The Gargoyles are created, but Abaddon gets away with them before Baltoh can kill him. Once again blinded by anger, he releases a shockwave that smothers the riot, and when Michael attacks him, he mercilessly cuts him down. Baltoh sees Selene, realizing he needs to confront her and come to terms with the way he feels about her. He comes to her apartment that night and the two confess their love for each other. The spend the night consummating their relationship, but Baltoh eventually stops due to a nervous breakdown, faced with an existential crisis brought on by this sudden change in his life. Selene calms him down, promising to help him figure out who he is and find peace in his life. They then resume having sex, unaware of what is going on outside. The next morning, Baltoh wakes up and realizes that a huge battle has taken place. Gabriel arrives and confronts him for being absent during the fight and for being intimate with a human. He tells Baltoh about the fight, in which several Gargoyles, enhanced with Horror Obelisks, ransacked the city while Abaddon managed to summon ten Demons from Hell. Baltoh, Selene, and Gabriel theorize as to what the Demons are trying to do, and Baltoh claims that they are trying to open up a permanent portal to Hell. Due to the situation, an unspoken truce between the Archangels and Baltoh is formed. Selene goes to work and tells Molly about her night with Baltoh, then Baltoh comes crashing through the wall, currently battling with the Demons summoned the previous night. He returns to the fight, where along with Michael and Gabriel, Raphael and Rosemary and taking part. No longer confused and distracted by his feelings for Selene, Baltoh easily kills five Demons. After the battle, Baltoh gets Molly up to speed and talks with Rosemary. Due to the deteriorating situation in New York, Selene's parents send her brother to look after her. Baltoh meets with Mulciber, Hell's librarian, and confirms his suspicions of the Demons' plan. Back on Earth, Baltoh and Gabriel discuss their truce and the status quo between the Hybrid and the forces of Heaven. He and Gabriel recant their first meet, when they encountered the Demon, Endara, who was performing an experiment to open a doorway to Hell on Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. Baltoh spends the next month in Hell (around 30 years due to the flow of time in Hell), while coming back to spend his evenings with Selene. On Earth, the situation in New York continues to worsen, with the citizens becoming more violent and unruly and Gargoyles and Goliaths spawning from the malice. The remaining Demons are using this time to prepare for the portal ritual. One night, Selene and Marcus return to her apartment to find Baltoh, beaten to within an inch of his life. He had successfully located the ritual site for the portal in Hell, the Demons using the "Stone of Cain" as a countering force to the negative energy being harnessed in New York. Before he can destroy the stone, he is attacked and fights Iscariot in the streets of Pandæmonium (Paradise Lost). It is a one-sided battle, with Baltoh nearly killed and forced to flee to Earth in failure. He warns Selene to get out of the city, as the ritual is almost complete, and takes off to find and warn the Archangels. He delivers the message, but not before losing consciousness due to the energy depletion needed to heal his wounds. Soon after waking, he senses Selene is in danger and rushes back to her apartment. There, he finds Molly nailed to the table, raped and tortured to death, and Marcus, fatally wounded but alive. Selene is nowhere to be found. Abaddon calls the apartment and gives Baltoh an ultimatum: either he stops the Archangels from interfering with the Demons when they initiate the ritual, or Selene dies in the same manner as Molly. Desperate to save her, he gives in, and when the ritual is initiated, he intercepts Rosemary, Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael. He easily overpowers them, but Rosemary acknowledges the direness of Baltoh's situation and declares that both sides shall fight without judging the other. The ritual is completed and a barrier surrounds New York City, severing it from the universe with only minutes before the city is obliterated and the doorway is opened. Baltoh and the Archangels rush to the epicenter of the ritual, where the Demons have gathered. Abaddon releases Selene back to Baltoh, as she is more valuable alive, as Baltoh's exploitable weakness, than dead, which would trigger Baltoh's rage and unleash his true power. Monsters and Hell swarm the city and an army of Angels and Archangels arrive to face them head on. Michael calls forth the Holy Chalice, one of the Sacred Relics holding Jesus Christ's soul and powers, the only one in the Archangels' possession. He uses it as a stopper to temporarily plug the hole between the dimensions and save the city from annihilation. The city is sealed within a dimensional barrier, and while Demons can get in, they can't escape to Earth, but it will only last one month. The two armies are about to collide, but before Baltoh can get Selene to safety, she is speared through by a Demon's lance. Abaddon is horrified by this, knowing that Baltoh's vengeance will be catastrophic. Baltoh tries to heal her, the weapon is destroying her body and soul faster than he can repair the damage. She dies in his arms, reduced to ash by black flames with her soul erased. Baltoh is overcome by grief, and immediately after, blinded by rage. No longer rational, he begins using his Ragnarök technique, an eruption of energy that expands into a laser with a diameter of over twelve miles. He fires is wildly, managing to kill Abaddon and most of the Demonic masses that had arrived, but also carving gargantuan scars across the planet's surface, killing countless people, and even destroying both the moon and planet Mercury. Before he can deliver a final blast, Baltoh is stopped. Selene, as an Angel, appears and returns him to his senses. Both she and Molly had been saved, Selene from oblivion and Molly from damnation, an act of God to pacify Baltoh and ensure his cooperation. Now that the doorway has been opened but New York saved, the city becomes a battlefield between the forces of Heaven and Hell, for both the people and the chalice holding the Demons back. During the brief lull, Selene reveals her Angelic existence to Marcus, who then tries to fight Baltoh as punishment for failing to protect her. Baltoh and Selene argue about her fighting in the coming battles, but he reluctantly agrees to let her take part and begins training her on how to fight. Molly sees them sparring but doesn't join in, still traumatized from her horrendous death at the hands of Demons. With the first battle imminent, Baltoh summons his "Damned Heroes", an army of subordinates who were condemned to Hell for committing murder in the name of justice, just like all the souls that made Baltoh. The battle begins, with Baltoh, his subordinates, the Archangels, Angels, and humans fighting against the incoming Demon horde. Hundreds of thousands of people are slaughtered, millions wounded, and the city leveled (though the Angels have a means of restoring it via a "repairing barrier"). With the battle over, everyone begins tending to the wounded, and while working in a hospital, Baltoh his met by Molly. She seeks him out, unsure what path her life should take and having lost her mental bearings. Baltoh manages to put her at ease and encourages her to fight to protect her freedom. Rosemary arrives, sent to bring Baltoh to a meeting of the commanders, but overhearing their conversation, waits for them to stop before pulling him away. In the hospital staircase, she speaks to him about how much he's changed since meeting Selene. At first she is proud of his growth, but turns on him, angered that he hadn't shown such a kind side to her when he trained her. At the meeting, Baltoh suggests finding the Throne of Cinereo, a theoretical object or force that will allow one to become a god of the physical universe and hopefully close the portal. Michael strongly opposes the idea and refuses to acknowledge the possible existence of the Throne, since if it exists, then a Throne of Heaven would exist, which Baltoh claims is what Jehovah used to become God. Michael refuses to cooperate, but Baltoh strong-arms the rest of the Archangels to begin the search. Those slain in the battle are collected and a mass funeral is held, after which, fortifications are set up within the city to try and lessen the death toll in the next battle. Having regained some of her courage, Molly joins Baltoh and Selene for a sparring lesson. Baltoh then tries to train the Archangels, infuriated by their weakness and their inability to protect the people of the city. His cruel and merciless teaching methods leave even Rosemary half dead from exhaustion. The second battle begins, now with Molly fighting alongside Baltoh and Selene. She and Selene end up caught in a Bleak's grip while Baltoh is distracted. Seeing them, Rosemary's jealousy momentarily makes her consider letting Selene die so that she will have Baltoh to herself. She remembers the state he was in she died the first time and resolves never to let him experience that pain again, and to protect Selene and Molly. Later on, Baltoh is again separated from Selene of Molly. A Demon, Ziraal, catches Molly and drags her away with Selene in pursuit, while Baltoh is forced to face a Demon army and is unable to help them. Selene tries to fight of Ziraal, who has come to enslave her and Molly, but no match for the Demon. Molly is paralyzed by fear, but Selene's refusal to give up the fight and Baltoh's encouraging words from the hospital return her courage and she swears to kill Ziraal or die free. Meanwhile, Baltoh is attacked on all sides by swarms of Demons but is able to hold his own and chip away at their numbers, but as the battle progresses, his frustration and desperation begin to alter his body. Rosemary comes to help him but watches as he slaughters the Demons, having achieved a partial transformation into his awakened state and lost all sense of reasoning. She fears that he will attack her but he regains his senses and turns back, promising he will never again hurt her. He goes to help Selene and Molly who have bravely fought against Ziraal and even delivered some serious blows, but are naturally outclassed. He lends his gun to Molly and she kills the Demon with a single shot. Elsewhere in the city, Marcus is helping to fight the monsters of Hell, but is knocked out in an explosion. He wakes up deep underground and has to work his way through a Gargoyle-infested cave system in search of a way out. He comes across and underground building, operated by the Coven, an ancient Devil-worshipping sect working in tandem with the Demons. It is filled with bodies used for experimentation. An unknown Coven member activates the bodies, turning them into Ghouls. He fights his way through them and escapes by the skin of his teeth. He meets up with Baltoh and tells him about what he found, after which he, Baltoh, and Raphael go down and investigate. Baltoh captures a lone Ghoul, realizing that he and Raphael had witnessed the creation of such a creature when they first met. Baltoh and the Archangels begin researching the Coven and find a clue to uncovering the Throne of Cinereo using the languages of the three universes: Hellscript, Enochian, and Cinereous Hermeticism. The third battle begins soon after, now with the Ghouls taking part in the fighting. The citizens and Damned Heroes are overwhelmed and Marcus, Selene, and Molly fight a losing battle against a conjoined monster. Baltoh is held up fighting seven Demons enhanced with Binding Nails and sends Rosemary to help Selene and the others, but even she is unable to kill the creature. Baltoh manages to defeat the seven enhanced Demons and slays the Ghoul before it can deliver a finishing blow. Marcus tells Baltoh that the Ghouls have been kidnapping people and dragging them to Hell. After the battle, he goes to see Rosemary, who is once again at an emotional turmoil, due to her feelings for Baltoh and their undefined relationship. Baltoh admits that even though he does not have romantic feelings for her, he does love her, and convinces her to work as his spy in Heaven. Days later, the fourth battle takes place, this time, rather than an army of Demons and Gargoyles, it is a lone Master of Torture and its Titan mount. The defenders split up and Baltoh faces the Master of Torture and the Archangels fend off the beast. The Archangels are clearly outclassed and have to call on Baltoh for help, who has reached a stalemate with his opponent and manages to gain the upper hand after restraining the Demon with numerous spells and then being healed by Selene, Molly, and Rosemary. He dispatches the two invaders with a single Ragnarök blast. In the aftermath of the battle with the Master of Torture, the citizens' view of Baltoh changes, seeing him no longer as just a suspicious entity fighting alongside the Angels, but as a leader and revolutionary, sharing secrets of God and Heaven and that were forever kept from them. With Rosemary acting as his spy and leaking him information from Heaven's libraries, he uncovers a forbidden spell used for erasing sins from the souls of the living and sparing them damnation if performed before death. He begins using the spell on the desperate citizens, protecting them from God's draconian standards. Michael challenges him as to his grudge against God and Baltoh details the eons he has spent in Hell, not only fighting Demons, but protecting the unjustly condemned. As people flock to Baltoh, Michael recalls a conversation he had with Jesus Christ, where a prophecy was made, speaking of the spirit of humanity surpassing everyone in Heaven and wonders if Baltoh is that spirit of humanity that Christ once spoke of. With time running out and desperation mounting, Baltoh takes Selene, Molly, and Rosemary on an expedition to a barren planet on the other side of the universe, which he reveals to be God's homeworld. They investigate the ruins of the now extinct culture, finding that they were researching both Heaven and Hell and the power of the universe. During lulls in the fighting, they return to this planet and use the ancient machinery to experiment with the power of Cinereo in the hopes of uncovering the way to achieve the Throne. Battles continue to rage, with the number of humans, Angels, and Archangels steadily dropping. Cults begin to form, with people worshipping Baltoh as their savior out of frustration for God's inactivity. Time is running out, as two days before the Holy Chalice barrier is set it break, a Demon comes to New York. He offers a deal from Tenebrous and Iscariot: give up the Sacred Relics and Tenebrous will spare the city. But in the process, he reveals that Baltoh possesses all of the remaining Sacred Relics, and with it, the ability to stop the cataclysm himself. The Archangels turn on Baltoh, convinced that he has been a double-agent working for the Demons. Baltoh reveals his final trump card and tells everyone of Jesus Christ's real mission on Earth and of the secret deal between Jehovah and Tenebrous to bring about the end of the world. He had found the lost relics and kept them hidden to make sure neither side ever got their hands on them and restarted the plan. Heartbroken and relieved by this revelation, Rosemary openly severs her ties with Heaven and God and swears her loyalty to Baltoh. The next day, Iscariot arrives to kill the remaining defenders and seize the Holy Chalice. With her, she brings Legion, a single colossal Ghoul made by combining all of the Ghouls of the Coven and all the people the Ghouls had kidnapped. Baltoh summons forth two countermeasures: a shield and halberd made by combining the Sacred Relics. He leaves the shield with Rosemary and tasks her and the Archangels with defeating Legion while he fights Iscariot. With the help of Marcus and the Damned Heroes, the monster is destroyed. During his fight with Iscariot, Baltoh discovers her true identity as Lilith and manages to overpower her by feeding on a human and achieving his completed form. He delivers the final blow with the halberd, using it as a medium to bring forth the power of Cinereo, at the cost of destroying it. However, he had hoped it would unlock the Throne for him but was ultimately disappointed. Even though Iscariot and Legion are defeated, the city's fate is unchanged and time runs out. With the barrier surrounding New York crumbling, Baltoh makes a last-ditch attempt at stopping the destruction and attempts to harness his life force with a suicidal technique. However, the power unleashed upon his self-destruction proves to be enough to trigger a Cinereous reaction, even greater than the one he made with the halberd. Rather than dying, Baltoh is able to ascend and seize the Throne of Cinereo, becoming a god equal to both Jehovah and Tenebrous. Baltoh uses his new divine power to seal the portal and return the city to Earth. Now with the strength to defeat Tenebrous, he leads his friends to Hell and they slay the Hell Princes. In the Circle of Sloth, he gets separated from Selene, Molly, Rosemary, and the Archangels, and begins his fight with Tenebrous. Scattered across Hell, the three women (with the help of Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael) use the power Baltoh gave them to slay Hell Princes Mamon, Belphagor, and Baal. The Archangels and Valkyries manage to find Tenebrous's lair and witness the divine battle between him and Baltoh. When he faces Tennebrous, the Demon God reveals that everything since Baltoh's birth was part of his plan, one of the possible endings being that Baltoh would attain the Throne of Cinereo and Tennebrous would kill him, temporarily disturbing the barriers between dimensions and allowing him to assert control over Cinereo. Hearing this, Baltoh breaks down, losing all of his confidence when he realizes how his entire life had been mannipulated. However, he regains his resolve, realizing that not even Tennebrous could have predicted Baltoh meeting Selene and how much she changed him. While initially, he and Tennebrous are at a stalemate, the Demon God's home field advantage becomes more and more apparent. Baltoh uses everything he has to try and overwhelm Tennebrous, making their powers collide in an explosion capable of erasing an entire galaxy. Under the cover of the explosion, he fires a Ragnarök blast at the Throne of Hell, using the power of Cinereo to break the bond between the Throne and Tennebrous, turning him back into a Demon. Baltoh easily dispatches him. Before Selene and the others can reach him, Baltoh is visited by Jehovah, who managed to sneak into Hell to see the battle. Baltoh forgives him for the pain he suffered due to the damnation of his human souls, but deems Jehovah unfit to possess the Throne of Heaven and strips him of his power, then condemns him to Hell for his crimes against humanity and his own species. Baltoh leaves the Throne of Hell to Michael and returns to Earth with Selene, Molly, and Rosemary. He sends out a telepathic message to every human on Earth, telling them of the events that had transpired in New York and announcing the beginning of a new era.